


Trapped

by AmberRain076



Category: Code Lyoko
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, First full fledged CL fic, Gen, Science Fiction, Suspense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-17
Updated: 2016-09-17
Packaged: 2018-07-24 15:27:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 15,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7513474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmberRain076/pseuds/AmberRain076
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The mission was supposed to be simple. Go to Lyoko, deactivate the tower, Return to the Past. None of the warriors were prepared for this... And none of them expect what followed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> At lastly, I started my new Code Lyoko fanfic. Yes, this will be quite suspenseful and creepy at some points. As for where in the canon this fic is, I guess somewhere around mid season 3, but canon divergent of course. Anyway, huge things are happening in Lyoko, so you'll see what the heroes go. Also, this is for Code July day 9: Sector, but I was on vacation and now I'm back, I finally post it here.

"I-I don't get it... It was suppose to be simple! How-how could it come to this?" - Jeremie.  
  
It was suppose to be easy... Simple... But it turned out to be all wrong.  
  
Very, very wrong.

* * *

 

"Aelita, watch out!"  
  
Aelita lets out a horrified yelp as she escapes from one of the monsters' lasers, with the ray penetrating into the ruby red rock ledge of the Volcano Sector. Specs of ash riddle in the virtual air. Good thing she doesn't have to risk suffocating from that. Her pink, ballet-like shoes dance the moment she ran, heart pummeling in her chest.  
  
"Aelita!" Came Jeremie's frantic shout, racking the black, cloudy sky of Lyoko. "Stay cautious, the Scyphozoa might be anywhere!"  
  
Circuit blue hues are glowering within the girl's face, glistening with terror and petrified breaths forcing out of her mouth. The last thing she needed to be is being wrapped by the mechanical jellyfish's tentacles.

"Princess, I'm coming!"  


Racing across the ebony, flat terrain with a yellow trail flowing behind him, Ulrich manages to speed up to Aelita. Seeing her horrified stare, he squeezes her shoulder with assurance. It's the best he can do for now.  
  
"To think we would be heading in another one of Xana's traps..."  
  
Aelita nods in agreement, a downcast hum streams from her lips. Staring off into the distance, there lays a volcano, having the dastardly intention of eruption. That only strengthens their worries... And this was only the beginning.  
  
This was suppose to be child's play; elementary in their books. However, this isn't the case. This wasn't straightforward anymore. Something has happened, and no one, not even Jeremie, can comprehend it.  
  
Aelita deactivated the tower... She stopped Xana's plan. All they had to do was Return to the Past. Yet... it never happened. All warriors are in silence. Whatever this is....

....it can't be good.  


"I don't get it..." Jeremie speaks up, flabbergasted with sweat dripping from his temple rapidly. He cannot believe this. "The tower deactivated... We were suppose to do Return to the Past..."  
  
Ulrich didn't like the sound of this. They were able to do this before... Why is this any different? How could it be any different? He wasn't so sure. It could concern anything and everything. The whole world might be in grave danger and they might not even know it.  
  
"Jer... Have you tried sending us back to the scanner room?"  
  
An unexpected jab at the keyboard echoes across the sector, possibly startling the two.  
  
"I've tried, Ulrich! Nothing's working!"  
  
Nothing's working? How? How could it possibly be? This... This just doesn't make any sense. Not at all. They have to think of something... Anything to solve this mess... But nothing comes to mind. Nothing. Not even Einstein himself can configure anything.

The samurai clenches on his katana, gritting his teeth slightly in anxiety. He's going to make the AI pay for this.  
  
"Any word on Odd and Yumi?" Aelita inquires softly, clasping her hands together in hope that maybe... Maybe things can turn out right.

"...You're all separated..." Jeremie faintly replies. How could things come to this? "They're in the Ice Sector. Now, I'm not even sure if the waytowers will send you over there..."  
  
"We have to try something..." Ulrich breathly exasperates. "We can't just be standing here like sitting ducks..."  
  
"Ulrich's right, Jeremie..." Aelita proclaims, disliking the nearly uninhabitable sector. Even if they have taken care most of Xana's minions, others may be lurking around... And who knows? There might be new creations in store. "Xana has an advantage over us... We're _trapped_ in Lyoko..."  
  
The prodigy felt as if a blade sliced through his chest... Shock overwhelming him. This can't be. No... He can't believe it... That his friends are stuck in the virtual world.

"We... We have to try... Anything... You can't be stuck in there forever..."  
  
The duo knew of that... But it's plausible. That obviously makes it a horrifying discovery. Aelita knows what it feels like. She spent several years in Lyoko... And she surely doesn't want to do that again... Especially with Xana being extremely powerful.  
  
"Jer, we won't give up," Ulrich states with motivation. Already he has a bad feeling about staying in here too long. Will they lose memories like Aelita once did? He hopes not. "No matter what it takes, we'll always find a way... And we can't do that without our Einstein, right?"

Jeremie nods, starting to feel confidence in himself. They can't give up... Even if this whole adventure is just the beginning.  
  
"Right..."  
  
Ulrich observes the harsh environment around them, trying to find a way out of here. Trying to find that tower. What's terrible about this sector is that there are too many towers in one spot. None of them are sure where they came from. They all look so alike... How could they tell which one they should go to?

Aelita helped along, speculating on which one they should enter. It's frustrating... She didn't think she would see so many towers all at once. Just... Which one is the one they came from?  
  
_"You're all separated..."_ Jeremie's words rang in their heads, giving them trepidation. He's not wrong... All of them have been split apart, without any communication to one another.  
  
"Maybe it's this one..." Ulrich suggests, resting his palm on one of the towers. Before he could react, the building sucks him right in.

"Ulrich!" Aelita shouts in panic, reaching her arms through the tower, hoping she would grab him.  
  
Ulrich has his legs dangling, tightly and firmly gripping onto Aelita's hands. Gazing down below is nothing but darkness... A pit with no confirmation of where to go. It must be a bottomless pit... There is no data floating within the tower.  
  
"Princess... I don't think... I can hold on much longer..."

Looking at his anxious-filled amber eyes, Aelita can tell that he is afraid too. He hides it under a stern, stoic mask... But it's still there. She knows that they're all petrified about this... About them being trapped in Lyoko.  
  
"I got you!"  
  
With a heave, she yanks him back into the Volcano Sector. Both watch the black, anvil-shaped clouds and the rumbling volcano out in the distance. To their worst luck, it might erupt soon. They have to find a tower that won't send them to oblivion.  
  
"Jeremie... Can you locate which tower we should go into?" Aelita wonders, not sure how much she could take in this forlorn atmosphere. Already she can feel her knees shaking and buckling.  
  
No response.

"Jeremie..."  
  
Again, no response.  
  
The warriors both exchange worried glances.

"Jeremie!"  
  
"I... I don't believe it..." The sky shakes with Jeremie's voice of disbelief. "I... I can't detect anything on my radar... The only thing is you guys and the monsters..."  
  
"You're... Joking, right?" Ulrich hoped so. This has to be a joke... This has to be a joke. Fearing the worst, he knows this is the harsh truth.  
  
"...Unfortunately no..."  
  
Exhaling anxiously... They knew Jeremie had to be right... And this time, learning the information of it is bad enough. The only thing they're wondering about now is Xana... What's he going to plan for them? Is he going to hunt them down? Do a devastating attack on Earth? What is it? What could the AI plan to further break them down? To win?

Rumbles start to bounce off the duo's ears... Alerting them. They began to increase, along with the ground vibrating. Visible hairline cracks are spreading all over the ground like webs.   
  
"Princess, run!"

With panic riding them, they charge out of their way... Away from the volcano as fast as they can. If they can't be sent back to the scanners, who knows what could happen if they devirtualize?   
  
The effervescent, sizzling lava scrabbles behind them, coating just about any shred of matter in its path. Fissures appear among the ground, just enough for the whole entire terrain to split. If they fall, they'll go to the Digital Sea... And be wiped straight out of existence.  
  
Yanking Aelita in his arms, Ulrich blasts across the walkway... Unfortunately there's a gap between this platform and the one next to it. He almost think of Aelita using her creativity... But they don't have much time.  
  
"We have to jump..."

He hates this decision, but does it look like they have a choice? Not with all this lava around... One mishap... And then... Who knows what could happen to them?  
  
Jeremie feels sweat drip from his brows... Hands clenching on the keyboard and hoping... Hoping they would make it across. The danger of it alone is spine-tingling enough. They have to be careful... And if they're not, then it's all over.

With a leap of crumbling faith, the warriors glide through the gap... A determined samurai holding en elfin princess. Aelita lets out a scream, hiding her face in her friend's shoulder. Ulrich, on the other hand, keeps her close... Eyes flaring with the confidence that they can make it.  
  
The rocky earth becomes closer and closer in his view, giving him relief... Until he met face to face with it. Tumbling against the black powdery, flaky substance of amorphous carbon and incomplete burning of organic matter, they made it to the other side... Only, they bump straight into a tower.  
  
Jeremie clenches the sides of his head, fingers curling into his blonde hair... Fearing what could possibly happen next.  
  
Everything came so fast in their eyes. Blue data streaming throughout the tower with them plummeting to the very depths of it. It spits them right out, sending them into the next sector.

Eyes widening in shock... They can easily glimpse to notice... This isn't like the regular sectors. This wasn't the Volcano, Ice, Desert, Mountain, or Sector 5 sectors.  
  
The ground is violet purple... And the sky is wonderful hues of blue, pink, and red... Shimmering within a starry sky. Crystals of multiple colors are sticking from the ground, glimmering within the light.

"Jeremie... Where are we?" Aelita breathlessly questions.  
  
Jeremie can't believe it. "You're in a new sector..."  
  
_Far off in the distance and into the shadows, glowing crimson eyes locks onto them._


	2. Chapter 1: The New Sector

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woah boy, another chapter! This one was a lot of fun to do, especially with me creating my own sector and everything! But what's in the sector? No one won't know til' they investigate! I did got inspired by playing a lot of Ratchet & Clank and have been reading an amazing Code Lyoko fanfic called "I Will Remember You" by Brezifus on Tumblr (which I seriously recommend!).

“A new sector?”

The Lyoko warriors couldn’t believe it… This entire place is a new sector… A new territory created by Xana. The whole thing seems far-fetched, but it’s right in front of them. This was like the Mountain Sector, except there are pockets of crystals spiking up like daggers from the ground… And there’s no hint of gaps or platforms… This is just one place. One territory.

“Yes… Xana created this himself…” Jeremie states, apprehension in his tone of voice. “Who knows why though? This may be a way to trap you all in… Or worse…”

Aelita holds her hands together and holds them close to her chest, appearing frightful. Eyes sparkling and body trembling. She has a feeling that things are going to only go downhill from here.

“...Worse?”

A ruby shine of light catches Ulrich’s attention… Squinting his eyes to get a better view. In between a crevice of large purple rock ledges, there is a pair of blood red, beady eyes glaring right back at him. Amber hues widening and mouth dropping, he backs away a few steps, alerting Aelita.

“Ulrich?”

Hearing her horrified voice, the samurai would rather ease her. Things are bad enough already, but a new monster? It’s disastrous. He has to say something…. He can’t leave her in the dark.

“Princess… There is something targeting us… And it’s not a pretty one…”

“What are you talking about? I don’t see…” Now it’s Aelita’s turn to back away, convulsing from head to toe.

“Princess? Aelita? What’s wrong?” Noticing her face turns ghostly white, Ulrich begins to panic. Was it the eyes she viewed? Or… Something else? Did he dare turn around and look?

His blood runs cold, and his finger digits begin to shake. His pupils flash with tension. His grip on his katana begins to slip.

A moist, sweltering air breaths down on him… And Aelita hides behind him, a palm filled with pink energy in one hand… While the other clutches Ulrich’s free arm.

This thing… They have never seen anything like it. It’s black and slimy with huge red bug eyes and purple saw-like teeth. A row of horns line down from its head to its disturbingly long tail… Only seven inches long. It looks a lot like the Xenomorph that Xana materialized long, long ago… Only it has these features. Not to mention its protruding jaw and tentacles spawning from its back. The Xana logo is on its forehead, a symbol from its creator.

Ulrich raises his blade… While Aelita holds out her energy balls. Whatever this thing is, they know it’s not going down easily.

With a stentorian bellow, the creature charges at them. One blink of an eye, and all they can see is a blur. Shocked, Ulrich decides to run circles around it. Dashing laps around and around… The monster tosses him in the center… And gale force winds start to pick up as he lays there… Trapped.

Greasy, gooey tentacles entwining around his body in a sequence of hoops… As he remains to try to destroy the menace even though it’s squeezing the life out of him. Its protuberant jaw thrusts out… Keened set of teeth lined up by a pair of jaws… All coated with slime and two long, serpent-like tongues. They launch out to him, which both bounce off as he defends himself with his weapon.  _ There’s no way in Hell this thing is going to eat me! _

With a strike of pink force, the thing releases him, roaring at the panicky Lyoko female, who is holding an energy field in both palms.

Amber irises narrowing to dagger-like slits, the sword-wielder charges after the beast that targets Aelita.

“Don’t touch her!”

**Throom!**

One second it was there, and now… It’s gone. Both of them couldn’t spot it nor tell where it’s going, and it doesn’t help that Jeremie couldn’t pick it up on his radar.

...And so, Aelita begin to run.

Running as far as her legs can carry her and from far away from the new creation. It wouldn’t be a wise choice, but what was there for her to do? They have no idea where they are and don’t know where the tower is. It’s not like she’s knows its weakness.

Rushing after her in order to protect her, Ulrich remains cautious of where the creature could be. The sector is massive so it could be anywhere. Oh, how he wished he had some backup… Speaking of which….

_ Where are Yumi and Odd? _

They still have to be in the Ice Sector. Maybe. Or maybe they’re stuck here as well. Just wondering about spikes up with the anxiety of being killed off by the monster. There’s no doubt in his mind that it’s after Aelita.

This whole mission… Turned to Hell on them in a matter of seconds. This could have gotten a lot easier… But it turned out for the worse.

“Watch out!”

Spiraling himself like a twister, Ulrich pushes Aelita out of the way of the tentacles coming to thwack them senselessly.

**Bam! Bam! Bam!**

The octopus-like tentacles slam against the flat ground repeatedly, creating plum-shaped dust that puff in the air like mushroom clouds. Ignoring the dust, digital particles, the two scout the perimeter of the unknown area to at least take cover… Or do anything from ending up in the creature’s jaws.

Hiding behind a rock ledge, they try to not make a single sound… Just so it won’t sense nor locate them. The chances of it are very slim… If Xana has the credibility to make something as grotesque as this, then he can surely make it track them.

“Any ideas?” Ulrich whispers, gripping tightly on his blade and preparing to smite just in case it comes near.

Aelita hums in thought… There could be ways to take it down. Doing basic attacks are at a minimum, and by its speed, she isn’t sure Super Sprint can top that off. They have to be smart. They have to try any possibility they can get.

A light bulb pops on her noggin at the nick of time. If this creature could do something so alien, then surely she can do something bizarre of her own.

“That’s it!”

The monster’s shrill tells them that their time is up… And that they’ve blown their cover. 

“Well… You better do it fast before this freak turns us into digital specs!”

Aelita emits an angelic siren, palms touching the ground as waves of her power pulses into it. Cracks scatter across and surrounds the creature as stalagmites trap it in between a multitude of them.

“That should hold it off for now…”

Torrents of nose-burning air gusts at them once the monster lurches out in frustration… Talons digging into the rocks and threatening to break them apart.

“Should have… That doesn’t mean it will. C’mon, Aelita.”

They at least try to find a nearby cave or something to hide themselves from the monster. The new sector is nothing more but foreign to them, and that gives Xana an advantage.

They don’t know where this place begins… And where it ends.

* * *

 

A clamor of a fan cuts through the air as a geisha clutches it in her hand. The icy realm around her seems barren enough… And she has no idea where her goofy friend is at. Roaming around, she checks her surroundings, being observant of where a menacing minion of Xana’s would make a move. There could be loads of them… Or there could be something new entirely.

“Odd! Hey! Where are you?” she snarls, getting tired of hide and seek. “Whatever you’re playing, this isn’t funny!”

Before she could rant some more, a scream has her dark-chocolate brown eyes coming out of her sockets. This could only mean trouble.

“What the…. What the Hell is-”

“Yumi!”

Her grip on her fans tighten.  _ What could be that he’s so angsty about? _

Turning around, she notices her ally rushing on all fours, holding his arm out to release his arsenal of arrows. Not much to her surprise, there’s a monster coming their way.

“What is it this time, a Block?”

“No, this time it’s really big… With teeth and everything! And you think Xana would be running out of ideas!”

Yumi squints his eyes in confusion.  _ What is going on? _

“What…. What are you talking about?”

Hairline cracks manifest over at the edge of the platform, and witch-like clawed hands grasp from the Digital Sea and onto the ice. Yumi couldn’t believe it. There’s no way a monster could be coming from the Digital Sea! But… What does this prove?

The Japanese warrior stands in hostility… Launching out her fans at the strange monster, but with every swing, she couldn’t manage to hit it. As her weapons come back to her, she watches as the creature crawls out of the sea.

“See? I told you!”

“Shut it!”

There’s no time to be gloating. Whatever this thing could do, it could simply tear them up or toss them in the Digital Sea. Being in the Ice Sector, the latter is more likely to happen. They can rush to a waytower, but without Aelita and being trapped in Lyoko, there’s no point of deactivating a tower.

Yumi takes a step forward, much to Odd’s dismay.

“Yumi! What are you doing?”

Yumi grits her teeth, twirling her fans and beginning to rush at the creature and destroy the creature.

"Taking it out!”

_ But she has no idea of what it’s capable of…. _


	3. Chapter 2: Thin Ice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are, chapter 2! I've got even more inspiration, but from Jak 2, a really, really hard game. But, I'm glad I got the chapter out. The stakes are high, and more monsters are appearing. The only question that remains is... How will they get out of this mess?

Unleashing the fans from her hands, she targets them at the barbaric beast up ahead, punting her heels at its god-awful face before it can even land a claw on her. Glowering with a harsh set of eyes that can penetrate through the fiend’s digital form, she hurls herself at it once again.

The flat ice roars its share of scissor-like crevices that have been created by the brawl that held on the sector. As if attacking a vicious monster isn’t enough, being in this sector only proves to be an easy territory for being thrown into the Digital Sea.

“Show me your worst….” Yumi spat with venom radiating off of her tone, ready to give another go with this swine.

The brute brandishes its talons at her, as if a knife cuts through butter. As the geisha’s avatar glitches due to its effect, it growls, stalking its prey with intentions growing in its head, ones to murder its enemy.

Clutching her side and gritting her teeth, Yumi doesn’t  give a damn about how much it hurts or not. She’s still not going down simply by this creation of Xana’s. Propelling her leg at it again, she hoofs forcibly at its face, adding the damage with rows of slicing with her fans. However, the more she puts pressure to the ice, the more fissures have been made.

“Yumi?”

The calling of her fearful friend is out of earshot, with her being set full on defeating this thing. Sharp nails dig into her skin, but she ignores. The intimidation of the monster is something she wouldn’t give two cents about. They’re stuck here so why not make the best out of it by kicking the crud of Xana’s underlings?

“Y-Yumi!”

Crevices flood into the feline’s ears, giving him dread. It won’t be long until the ice breaks, and will send the two warriors into the ocean, where they might never be seen or heard from ever again.

Odd’s frantic shouts of her name have finally reach into Yumi’s ears, giving her a heads-up. Her head spun, directing her to him pointing a shaky nail to the ice. That’s right. No wonder he was freaking out. 

With a leap, both of them cross towards another platform, ogling at the monster being plunged into the Digital Sea. To their displeasure, it seems to take joy into it. If it came from it, then it belongs there. Due to its navy blue scales and dragon-like head, it must be a serpent that Xana created for this sector as a way to bring them down.

The only problem is… How are they going to take it out?

Lines of thorns came riding up and down its back and down to its tail, with its mouth being filled with teeth. Hurtling itself at the warriors, it jerks out of the sea, howling at them with an unearthly cry.

“Wh-what do we do!?”

“The only thing we can do… Fight!”

Ice shards spew at them, only to be blocked by Yumi’s fans. Xana has really stepped up his game this time, for creating a monster that could easily dispose of them…. And they thought the Krabs were bad enough.

….No, this is much worse.

If their forms were in the real world, their hearts would be racing and echoing off in their eardrums. Here they can’t believe what they’re looking at. Xana has never been this… Tactful with his monsters, but surprise… Surprise… He’s got a new trick under his sleeve. 

With a war cry, Yumi hastens towards the creature, twirling and giving a wallop of kicks simultaneously. The nails of it has become larger…. And longer… Enough to destroy them in one go, but if they die and they’re stuck here…. Where do they go?

“Dammit!”

Another arsenal of ice comes for them, to they once again dodge. It’s not every single day that a creature gives them a hard time. The only time it really happens is with the Scyphozoa, and it’s a shocker that little beast hasn’t arrived yet. 

Big, bulging eyes of the serpent locks down on them, containing its master’s logo. Yumi blinks, ogling at it.

“That’s it! Its eyes are its weakspots!”

“Ya sure?”

“That’s how it was with the others….”

_ It’s worth a shot. _

“You distract it, I’m going to give it a little present…”

Odd winks at her, grinning childishly.

“You got it!”

As Yumi darts off in the other reaction, he waves his arms, flailing them to get the monster’s attention.

“Hey, ugly! Want a piece of mwa?”

Simply enough, the scaly menace comes creeping over him, causing gaps in the ice, just enough to cause the other to fall.

“Laser arrow!”

In a row, arrows lunge at it, having it backing away as a result of pain, but it wasn’t enough for it to get to its downfall, but who says this isn’t what all they got?

In a bright tint of white, Yumi touches her temples, taking control of the surroundings. Little by little, a glacier emerges from the sea, and with her palms aiming at the titan, before her chunk of ice flashes at its peepers, witnessing it being crushed and turned into nothing but digital dust.

“So, where do we go next, Einstein? I think we’re done here…” Odd chimes, to which the computer nerd begins to contemplate.

“...You have to go to a waytower, try to find Aelita and Ulrich in this new sector…. Whatever they’re facing, it’s nothing like I’d seen Xana do…”

“Speak for yourself,” Yumi complains bitterly. “We had a tough fight with some kind of serpent… Never seen anything like it….”

“Just… Head in there…” Jeremie tightens the bridge of his nose.  _ Great, as if things couldn’t have gotten any worse. Creating new monsters and this plan… What’s his arrange of attacks for Earth? _ “Be careful… As far as I know, if you devirtualize… It’s all over for you.”

The two nod, careening towards the waytower.

* * *

 

“Are you sure we’ll be safe in here?”

A shriek bounces off of the lavender cave walls, as the other duo resides in to keep away from the vicious creature. As Aelita sits against a wall, hugging her legs close to her chest, Ulrich paces back and forth, face scrunched in concentration.

“We can’t say for sure, princess. This little bastard is smart, freakin’ smart… And if we’re going to take it down, we have to think outside of the box. We may be doing a good game of hide and seek, but survey says if that thing could track us… Then we’ll be gone in a second.”

Aelita’s mind is bawling in fright… Butterflies in her stomach as she dreads on the many scenarios that fatalities could commence. Being shredded to pieces, in the jaws of the creature, and furthermore. It doesn’t help it that her friend is in anxiety either…. But she can see his attempts to be level-headed.

“C’mon… It had a weakspot…. A weakspot! We could have easily hit it in its weakspot! I was right in its clutches and could have-”

“You know how fast it was, it was faster than you for Franz’s sake! You said its smart… So we have to think tactics… Come with diversions… Anything to get rid of it.”

“....Not if it gets rid of  **us** first.”

That triggers the both of them to be silent, in nervousness that possibility is more likely than them beating it. Shrieks of the creature could be heard outside, having them frozen in apprehension. It shows signs of being closer…. And closer.

“C’mon… It’s time to go…”

Being tugged by her comrade, Aelita observes that no longer that the sector looks a lot like the Mountain Sector. Colorful crystals peak from underground, standing as if they were pedestals. A field of trees comes in their perspective, reminding them of yet another sector. 

The upper atmosphere is a grievous coal-black, shadowing them in a world where they can barely see. Lines of darkness wriggle their way to them, as the gleaming eyes of vermilion drag them in a state of perturbation.

As it slithers in a fleet, a shining sword slips out of its scabbard, and Aelita’s blue pupils dilate.

“Ulrich! What are you doing!?”

“We can’t just run from that thing forever, what if there could be more of them, huh?”

“But-”

“But nothing… It’s after you for all I worry about… And we can’t lose you to that abomination.”

Aelita realizes that there’s no way to talk him out of it. No matter how she tries, she can’t get him to reason. Sure, he suggested they hide before, but what good came out of it? Not much. It’s either fight or flight… And unfortunately fight is his option. 

“Come at me, ficker.”

That only causes it to get in an even faster pace. Ignoring what foul language he may have spit off of his foreign tongue, Aelita holds out energy fields, rapid firing at the snarling creature nonstop, or as fast as she could go.

Tentacles thrust at them, only to be parried by Ulrich’s katana. In a golden yellow streak, he dives at the atrocity, oscillating his saber and shearing its ugly face and the logo it wears on its head.

Once it wraps one of its tentacles around him and slam him on the ground, a crater forms as well as a dust cloud. Jumping back to his feet, he waits in distress as soon as the dirt clears… Only to find crimson eyes eyeballing back at Aelita and him.

“....It…. It didn’t work….” Aelita’s words fumble out of her mouth, which is trembling and compressing. “It…. It didn’t work…”

Currents of air whirl around as soon as the creature grins and roars, showing its canine teeth. Claws release from its hands, charging at them. Aelita hides behind Ulrich and clutches his arm, trying to escape but only to find herself running in place.   


_ Bang! _

Thin, wolverine nails clash against a strong blade. The swordsman isn’t running without a fight.

_ “If you’re going to hurt her, then you’re going to have to go through me.” _


	4. Chapter 3: By The Skin Of One's Teeth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy moly, what a chapter. Listening to intense music really does spark up the mood. Also, this is probably one of the most disturbing chapters I have ever written in a story.

“Princess, RUN!”

“I’m not leaving you-”

“Well, I’m not letting you get pummeled by this son of a-”

Claws clash against his katana, enough to knock the air out of him, but he nails his feet to the ground, spotting the sparks that flew out of the blades. The snarling creature locks its sight on him, having intentions of what to do. 

Its spiked tail encircles around his waist before flinging him across the forest. Aelita’s cry of his name echoes off in his ears, for it is barely audible thanks to being thrown from such velocity. In a zip, the brute catches over to him with its tentacles sprawling out of its spine. 

He has to do something. At this rate he could be devirtualized… Or suffer a fate worse than that. That thing has speed… Speed that is his gateway to taking down monsters.

_ It’s not the only one who has that power…. _

Unguises lacerate against tree bark., causing a row of trees to fall like a game of Dominos. Its teeth bare, sensing where the speedster may have gone. Unknown to it, he hides behind one of the trees, about to commence his strategy. 

“It may not be beaten by its weakspot, but it can surely be beaten by something else that could destroy them…”

In acceleration, he blurs through the emerald-green woodland, ramming into the disfigured menace and cocking his blade at its face.

“Hey, miss me?”

Tentacles shimmy all around him, as it opens its protruding mouth, seeing a second mouth inside. Snake-like tongues launch out along with its jagged sets of teeth. The sector around him gets darker and darker… And he could have sworn he’s descending…. Unless…

He sweatdrops.

_ Of course I could see its ugly teeth coming right towards me… _

Feeling slime coating all over him, he pierces his weapon straight into its esophagus and with a streak, he ejects himself out of its trap.

“Ugh, leave it to me to be barely eaten by an Xana monster…”

Footsteps stride in his direction, followed by none other than the once female AI herself.

“Are you alright?”

“Uhh… Well of you mean by being-”

He gets cut off by a thwack to the shoulder.

“Hey! What was that for?”

Aelita pins her arms to her sides, curling her hands into fists.

“Did you know how reckless that was? You… You made me worried sick!” Her tone is more worrisome than furious. 

Ulrich rubs the back of his neck, grinning awkwardly. “C’mon, y’know I can’t let it happen to you. You’re the one who has to protect Lyoko… and I’m-”

“You’re not anything below me… You know you’re important too…”

Now it’s his turn to clench fists. He shakes his head, exhaling before casting his gaze towards the monster.

“What was it that you said about diversions?”

The Lyoko princess smirks. “Trust me, you’re going to love this one…”

Time to set a course for distraction.

Two palms hold out a rosy pink energy, as its luminosity attracts the creature, which is seething with rage. The second it dives at her, she fires. The pulsing energy cackling at the creature has it collapsing on its knees, with its tentacles and tongues writhing all about in agony.

Turning her heel, she hastens away from it as fast as possible. There’s no way she’s getting near it with rarity of attacks.

“Now, Ulrich!”

Up in the trees, the samurai skybombs down below at the monster with his sword at the ready. One go to waste it…. Or at least find its true weakness.

**Bang!**

Aelita clasps her hand on her mouth, a shaky gasp following it.

Ulrich couldn’t believe his frickin’ luck.

No longer could they see the disturbing creature… As it disintegrates into nothing but digital air… But neither of them have killed it. 

Or…. Did they see it form into something?

As soon as the mess of digital particles vanish, their pupils dilate to the size of pins.

“Now…. That can’t be right…”

Two horns protrude from the creature’s head, as if the tentacles were never there to begin with. Serrated spikes form on its humanoid body, with claws growing to be even longer… And sharper. Its eyes of crimson are shimmering like rubies, enough to make the duo’s knees weak.

“Jeremie…. Did you see-” 

“I…. I saw…” Jeremie’s tone is flat, yet absorbing with horror. He felt sick in his stomach. “Apparently it could….” He gulps. “...Shift to multiple forms.”

Amiding in the field of trees comes the newly formed creature, with crystals popping all around its oily skin and enjoying taking advantage of the atmosphere around it. Fluttering wings sprout from it's spine, with bones curling around dragonfly wings.

If he wasn’t realizing that he’s in reality right now, Ulrich could have mistaken this as some cruddy nightmare.

Aelita clutches on her chest, rattling with her eyes bulging out. Never in her life has she seen Xana’s beasts do something so… So crazy. It’s either the evil program is becoming more advanced… Or is getting smarter. No wonder doing the return trips is so risky. 

Shrugging his shock off, Ulrich once again barrels into the alien-like creature, only for it to swing its talons back at him, colliding with his sword and nearly breaking it into countless shards. It grabs his leg, slinging him like a rag-doll and cannon into Aelita, with them being a tangled mess.

A wicked smile stretches across the creature’s face, eyes glowing with malice.

As it targets to them, the sound of something cutting through the air catches their attention. Now who could do aerial attacks like that?

The assault has the dark figure tumbling across the monstrous sector, not even its wings could support it from falling. From the ends of the plantation, someone lifts a hand in the air, only to catch the small weapon. Coming out of the darkness, the warriors run over.

“Yumi!” Aelita exclaims happily and in relief. “Thank goodness you came.”

“Yeah, and now I know why you need our help,” Yumi retorts, nostrils flaring in disgust. “Xana has made new monsters, huh?”

“You have no idea…” Ulrich picks his saber from the ground, placing it back in his sheath. “That could change its form… Like some kind of shapeshifter…”

“Well great…” Yumi rears her head to the fallen creature, brows creasing in worry. “...Let me guess… It’s hard to beat…”

“Not only that… When I hit the logo, y’know it’s weakspot, it didn’t explode or anything… How messed up is that?”

“Geez, would you look at the size of this thing!?” 

The three glance to see Odd poking at the unconscious creature with his claws, seeing if it could respond to anything as much to their dismay. However, it didn’t move… But that doesn’t mean it’s dead.

“So uhh… What’s the plan?”

Ulrich scoffs. “Huh, for now? So far… Fighting and running… Fighting and hiding… And guess what? Once you’re here, there’s no way you could find a tower in sight…”

“Really? What a bummer!”

Distorted racket comes from the monster afar from them… As if preparing to start another batter. 

The mili-second the brunette attempts to come rushing at it to attack, the Japanese fighter pulls him on the back of his torso.

“Don’t even start. I saw what happened there… You almost got yourself killed. I know you want to protect others, but don’t go getting yourself mauled by that thing.”

He could sense the anger radiating off of her… But he knows how worried she was. Good thing the darkness surrounding them obscures the red blush on his cheeks.

“There’s no time to laze around, we got to hide so this thing won’t have us for breakfast.”

With that, they’re off. The uproars of the monster has them hightailing even faster, hoping to escape somewhere… Somewhere so they could think of something to neutralize it.

Jeremie slumps in his chair, sighing in relief and thankful that his comrades are still alive. He isn’t sure how long they could last but he has to formulate a way to get them out of Lyoko… To find a weakness for this creature.

His fingers tap on the keyboard, keeping a check of their life points. His eyes widen, but grow back to their original size. He figured they lost some points but not much. It’s a surprise considering how the first two of the batch got brutally beaten by the monster. 

“At least they’re all okay…” he mutters under his breath.

Staying up for an entire night… Stressed to the bone… He’ll try his best to get them out of there.

_ Why didn’t the Xana logo take it out? _ It should have. He muses, having a sinking feeling in his gut.

_ It just doesn’t seem right... _


	5. Chapter 4: In Trepidation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeaaah, this one is kinda filler, but ah, what ya gonna do. To your surprise, this is centered around Aelita to see her take on the situation, along with the others of course... But what can they do to stop the shapeshifter? The setting is inspired by the crystal glacier from one of the Spyro games, and I also had musical inspiration which is Summer Forest from Spyro 2.

Across the forest and throughout the badlands of crystals, the four decide to try to lay low from the shapeshifter, but how in this sector could they find somewhere safe from that horrendous thing? They have no clue on what else could it do. If it can change its appearance, then it’s going to prove that it’s going to take more than a logo on its forehead to disintegrate it into nothingness.

A horde of feet traipse around the walkway of clusters of crystals that scatter all among the ground. The artificial sun in the sky blares a harsh, blinding illumination that causes said crystals to shine and dazzle. Good thing this wasn’t an actual place on Earth, because in this portion of the sector, it’s like a scorching desert. 

“There must be some way we can get away from it…” Yumi suggests, having the tendency to draw out her fans once again. “...It’s not like it has heat signatures on us…”

“Guessing how it acts, I won’t say that’s impossible,” Ulrich bitterly mumbles, squinting his eyes to get the stupid light from hitting his corneas. “It  _ does _ have a great sense of hearing… And I dunno how the hell it does that…”

Odd’s arms deflate, a disappointing frown casting on his face. “Aw man… How many more powers does this thing have? Even that monster from the movie that put eggs inside of people had some sort of weakness… Why not this guy?”

Yumi grounds her teeth, a hiss of aggravation coming from her mouth. Her eyes at this point could be mistaken for coal black due to the darkness that swirl around from the atmosphere, showing shadows that curl up the makeup on her face. 

As much as it’s refreshing to fight a new monster, this isn’t what she had in mind. In fact, none of them were expecting this, but…. What can they do? Yumi’s mind throb with questions that plague it.  _ What can we do? _

“I…. I don’t know Odd, okay? I’m sure we can think of something…”

While the other three are discussing, theorizing ways to defeat the carnivorous monster, the pinkette rubs her arms in discomfort. Her eyes are watering as memories span from her encounter with the shapeshifter, of the countless of times that she has been nearly killed.

A hand covers her mouth, a whine easily escaping from it. Her body quakes as images of the creature flash before her very eyes. The sharp claws. The two slimy tongues. The breathtaking speed it possesses. Her breaths come out rigid, rapid, as tears start to spill from her eyes.

“...Aelita?” The raven-haired female begins to speak, a look of extreme concern paints over the makeup of her face. “...Are you okay?”

Aelita couldn’t speak. Her eyes are the size of bowling balls and her pupils shrink to dots. Her breathing comes in a flurry, startling the others with panic. Never had they seen her in such a state.

“Aelita!”

Her vision blurs, almost to watercolor as the trio circles around her. Two hands grasp her shoulders and one hand rubs circles on her back. She could have sworn she could have heard Jeremie screaming for her name too. Her eyes flutter, with a sniffle coming from her nostrils. The voices she heard sound distorted, as if being plunged underwater.

The monster…. Why does it remind her so much of the wolves that stain her childhood?

“Aelita…. Speak to us…”

“Can you hear me?”

“Princess…. It’s okay…”

How can they be so sure? How can any of them be positive that it’s going to be okay? A snarling creature is out there, there’s no way they can win against it!

She yelps as soon as someone carries her, as her arms and legs flail, demanding a release. She couldn’t register what the others are saying, but the worry of their voices is enough for her to recognize.

“...Is she okay?”

The sky rumbles with Jeremie’s voice. How can such a small question bring so much pain in their hearts?

Yumi bits her lip, her sharp tips of her teeth can nearly cut through it. Flashing her eyes from Aelita for a second, she knows for sure that she isn’t okay, but what can she do or say to prevent Jeremie from entering the same fate as her?

Odd holds the elfen carefully in his arms, feeling her rattling and flailing. For once, he’s silent. No words can come out of his mouth at the moment, not even a joke. The sudden explosion of Aelita’s emotions have him at a loss for words. 

Ulrich, being the one who’s being replied on for a response, sighs heavily through gritted teeth. Following the other two to escape from the creature, he kept vigilance. Swallowing, he ruminates on the question at hand.

“....She… She just had a scare, Jer…” His voice is small compared to the other feisty sayings he had earlier. Never is it so… Quiet. “...She’ll be okay…”

Jeremie wipes the mop of sweat that’s dripping over his bangs, shoulders hunched and fingertips curling on some keys. It’s already been half a day, and he’s stressing out. It wasn’t unusual for Aelita to have panic attacks, but that’s because he’s seen her like this. The others… Not so much. 

_ No wonder they’re so hushed…  _ He broods.

“Alright… Just… Just checking…” He tweaks his glasses to keep them from falling off his sweat-coated face. “...You and Aelita suffered a great amount of life points back there… Especially you, Ulrich. You all should at least find a tower you can hide in…”

Ulrich sneers up to the tempestuous clouds above him. Now is not the time to talk about life points. Now is the time to figure out something.

“Einstein…” He pinches the bridge of his nose, stomping through the terrain. “...I get ya, you’re worried about the life points, but… We can really use some help in taking down that monster, alright?”

The group finds themselves in a meadow of crystals, sticking up in different kinds of directions, making themselves look like pieces of artwork and worthy. The creature could be anywhere… Perhaps hiding around the crystals. When it first appeared, it almost camouflaged with the scheme of the sector, with the exception of its eyes.

Who’s to say it won’t be like the same thing this time?

The team occupies a small cavern in a few seconds, which is studded by sapphire gemstones. The inside is embedded with rows and rows of emeralds. Who knew that Xana had a thing for precious things like these?

Aelita is gently placed down against the wall of the cave, huddled up in a ball with a chorus of sniffles and cries. Her friends must have figured she needed her space, so they stayed from here for her to breathe.

She wraps arms around her waist, her chin resting on her knees as she nibbles in the view of her surroundings. Crystals and gemstones. Pink and purple colors that frost the ground.

That’s right. She’s in the Crystal Sector. Not the Mountain Sector, not the Ice Sector, not the Forest Sector, not the Volcano Sector, not the Desert Sector, and not Sector 5. She’s not at Earth either. Not back at the Hermitage. She jumps at the noise of a wolf… But it’s only her imagination. 

_ I’m okay. I’m okay. I’m okay. _ Her words come in threes, trying to have it gluing into her brain.  _ I’m okay. I’m okay. I’m okay. _

A barrage of winds shoot at her, giving her the feeling that the sector is trying to stimulate weather. Her pointy ears perk up to the commotion of something big… Something huge.

_ No no no.  _ Not now. Absolutely not now.  _ No no no. _

One of her five senses might be messing with her, but how could she mistake it as an illusion? A delusion? An auditory hallucination?

Pellets of lavender slime rain at the opening of the cave, and the princess holds her palm out, smacking it against the floor. She lets her creativity flow in a song, as crystals come from left to right sides of the cave, blocking the entrance.

_ Bang. Bang. Bang! _

_ _ A whine bubbles out of her throat. Electricity runs around the energy fields she has in her hands. 

Why oh why does this have to remind her of her memories? Why does this have to torment her so?

Chips of crystals shatter at the force of claws, with the sharp tips of some of them pricking into Aelita’s arms. There’s no doubt in her mind that the shapeshifter is coming to her. Tongues grip on her wrists like shackles, dragging her away from her hiding spot.

No. No. She can’t let this thing eat her. No. She knows she can’t. She won’t.

A livid glower shoots back at the creature, as the Lyoko warrior supplies herself with her own weapons.

It’s time to stop being afraid. 

With a release from her fingertips, a pink cloud covers both the monster and her. The other three, battered by the lurker, charges toward the mess.

“Aelita!”

They rush to her in apprehension, finding that… She’s smiling, taking pride in what she accomplished. No longer does she want to hide… But even so, the threat still lingers.

“I… I took it out on my own….”

“Nice!” Odd cheers gleefully. “Did you kill it?”

That’s when Aelita’s smile fade. “...No. No matter what we do, it won’t be killed.”

A growl interrupts their chat, as a reflection of them is showing in the shapeshifter’s eyes.

“...Ya mean there’s no way to kill it?”

Tentacles begin to spawn once again.

The triad stands in front of Aelita to protect her, but the girl is ready to attack alongside with them. 

Ooze drips from the creature’s mouth, and the logo on its head glows harshly. The crystals on its skin could easily pierce in their skin.

Each member lets out a shudder.

What can they do? What must they do?

Fans cut through its crystals, arrows fire at its logo, and a pink balls blast at its mouth. A katana rams right into it, only to be blocked by its teeth.

The four couldn’t understand what it could do… What it wants to do. 

Aelita gasps deeply, her tone melancholy as she responds.

“I’m afraid so…”

As things appear hopeless, the sound of something being virtualized attracts the team’s attention. They gape as they couldn’t believe what they’re seeing.

_Their vehicles._


	6. Chapter 5: Predator & Prey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here comes yet another disturbing yet action-packed chapter. Buckle up, folks.

Their vehicles.

They can’t believe it. Out of all the things that seem nearly impossible, their vehicles show up. How about that, huh?

“Jeremie… How did-”

The computer nerd shows a sly smirk on his face, pleased to see the others’ amazed faces.

“I’m not entirely sure… I figured, could I summon your vehicles? So I did the procedure… And luckily I successfully virtualized them…”

“But ya didn’t find out how to take out this ugly guy, haven’t ya?” Ulrich questions blankly.

Well, at least they have something to help with dealing with this thing.

“Uhhh… No… Not yet…”

Usually it won’t take Jeremie this long, but who could blame him? Hell, who could blame the warriors as they’re fighting and hiding back and forth and back again?

Echoes of the Overbike soar across the sky, along with the Overboard and the Overwing.

Not expecting any less, the creature runs on its hind legs, slithering nothing more than a snake… But as fast as a cheetah. No. Faster than possibly light. In Lyoko, anything is possible… Including on what the monster could do.

**Go.**

**Go go go go go GO!**

Aversion drowns the warriors, having the urgency to drive as far as they can from the shapeshifter. Shards of crystals blast at the unscathed heroes like a hailstorm. The army of black clouds gives them a sign of this insane weather.

Weather on Lyoko!? On a sector!? Now it’s going to get even harder to not get their digital skeletons wasted away….

….To save their own pixelated skin.

The monster once again changes… With its tail spawning a flail at the end of it. Claws become rapiers, teeth appear like husks, and the tongues are nearly touching the ground, coated with slime. Its eyes grow out, much like a bug… And the wings it formed before began to be airborne.

“Oh…. Fuck…” Yumi curses out, in both distress and complaint. _Now it could take the skies too!?_ And they thought they were going to get the upper hand.

….Of course they weren’t.

Gucky tongues come flying at them like wasps, and the shower of crystals doesn’t help them either. Swiveling left and right, the team tries to keep clear of all the threats.

But how does one escape from something like this?

The trio of open range weapons fires at the abomination, hoping to at least do something. This is a living catwalk of madness. This shouldn’t be impossible. It can’t be impossible to take this thing down.

...Or, they at least hope so.

Wings flapping and sounding nothing more but propellers come towards the heroes… Along with a pair of tongues that seek them as nothing more but food.

Panicking, another row of energy fields, fans, and laser arrows come forth at the creature, but no luck. Nothing gained from that. No advantage. Nothing. Nothing more but the shapeshifter snarling in victory.

Aelita becomes dumbfounded, Ulrich becomes irritated, Yumi becomes furious, and Odd becomes disheartened. Jeremie could do nothing more but try to assist them and watch.

Hopeless. Why does he feel it in his gut? Crushing his internal organs til’ they’re nothing more but bite-sized pieces of themselves?

“You think the logo would take it out…” Yumi mutters bitterly, once again giving another go with her fans, only to have pride that her weapons at least tear a part of the creature’s wings. “...That’s normally how it is for every monster, right?”

“Sure enough!” Odd chimes, plucking his fist out to once again release his arrows. Yeesh, and he thought fighting a monster like this would be cool… And not terrifying. “Maybe Xana got tired of us winning all the time…”

“Remember when he materialized Krabes and Kankerlots on Earth the moment I arrived?” Aelita questions, to which she got the others nodding their heads. “...He’s gotten smarter… More advanced… That’s why he did a Return to the Past plenty of times before, right? That explains how he’s able to create a monster such as this…. And to make matters worse, he might….”

She swallows the lump in her throat. He’s done this a plenty of times before, who’s to say he won’t do it again? It’s only a matter of time before he does it.

“....Materialize it on Earth…” Their leader finishes, barely audible from the hailstorm of crystals and minerals.

None of them could force out words at the moment. Materialize it on Earth. Materialize it on Earth. Materialize it on Earth. If they can’t escape this sector, then…..

Everyone else is screwed at Kadic.

The earth-shattering, ear-piercing, inhuman shriek snaps them out of their troubling notions. The tar-like creature comes raging at them with its claws, before hastily touching a side of the Overwing, with the claws digging into it.

“Yumi!”

Bark-like brown eyes surge in fright, with one hand gripping on the handle and another swiping her fan at the logo of the creature… Narrowly cutting the magenta spikes off of the creature’s back and tail. As the other climbs up on her vehicle, it holds her by the wrists… Which are slowly being covered in slime as both of them are being held by the tongues.

Her back crashes into the handle of the Overwing… As it begins to pass right through the other warriors, heading into a straight line to who knows where. An endless journey until she dissipates into pixels.

As much as she would rather handle her own battles, there’s no way Ulrich would let her get harmed by his watch. In fact, none of them would. They’re stronger as one team, not being lone wolves.

Accelerating across the sky, the other two machines chase after the Overwing, with the three not letting Yumi out of their sight.

Their pursue is interrupted by tiny blue squares scattering out in the atmosphere. Their hearts descend to their stomachs, fortunately not being dissolved by stomach acid. Yumi… She can’t be devirtualized…. Can’t she? Yes, yes she can.

A small booming noise follows into their eardrums.

Yes, she can be devirtualized…. And maybe this time… Forever.

Hands uncurl from the Overbike handles… And an enraged cry causes the pinkette and the feline warrior to jump.

**_No._ **

**_No no no no no no no._ **

She can’t be gone already. She can’t be.

She can’t be.

A memory flashes right before his very eyes. Being pushed out of the way… Snow roaring at its fury… And Yumi laid there… Slowly being crushed by a tree. Stay awake. He needed her to stay awake, but she was slowly dying.

 _I need you…_ He remembered saying to her, choking back tears.

He can’t let it happen again.

He can’t lose her again.

Bouncing off from his vehicle and letting Aelita take it over, he aims straight towards the Overwing and the mess of digital particles.

“Ulrich!”

He’s going to make it pay. Oh how he’s going to make it pay….

….Until….

“ACK!”

Restricted in a choke-hold, a looming figure reveals a Cheshire grin and Xana looking eyes of twisted, sadistic glee. Black hair blowing in the breeze and a black and red jumpsuit, Ulrich realizes that this isn’t what he thought had happened.

He thought Yumi got devirtualized… But she’s sprawled on the Overwing… rubbing her temples in agony. Seeing the features of the other, he came to the conclusion that….

“...Uhhh…. Well, ain’t this a predicament?”

The shapeshifter morphed into Yumi.

Slamming the boy on the vehicle, the fake Yumi lay its boot on his chest… Holding its fans out that are covered in flames and spikes in order to further increase the amount of damage it’s going to wham on him.

This is going to be more complex than they thought.

Yumi touches her temples with her slime-stained hands, glowing as she tries to manipulate the storm around her.

Who’s to say she can’t use the shower of crystals as ammo?

The crystals dripping from the sky twirl around her, so much like a hurricane. Holding them in suspended animation, she pushes her palm out, spewing them at the doppelganger like bullets that are coming out of Chekhov's gun.

The army of the multi-colored rocks blast at the Yumi shapeshifter, who releases a banshee scream.

Slime pours out of its mouth, holding its tongues out as it catches the crystals in it. Hands fuse with the fans, becoming a grotesque combination of the two.

“Laser Arrow!”

“Energy Field!”

The attacks cause the morpher to double over, before chucking the crystals at Aelita and Odd, who both luckily got out of the way.

Jumping back on his feet, Ulrich aims his saber at it, with Yumi on the other side of the creature, still having her armory of crystals.

The shapeshifter grins from ear to ear, rather taking a liking to being a clone of Yumi.

Get ready, warriors.

_Things are going to get nasty._


	7. Chapter 6: Mare's Nest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter's title is suppose to mean a complex situation, and that this chapter is quite complex. Prepare for a good old smackdown.

Yumi soars her crystals over at the double, who deflects easily with its fans. She kept going and going til’ she’s all out of them. The clone grins wickedly, sensing how the warrior is slowly being drained out by using too much of her telekinesis. No matter though. It could use that to its sickening advantage.

As stones charge at the shapeshifter, it twirls around, blocking the minerals and shattering them into tiny pieces. Some fly at the two warriors, which attempt dodging with their own weapons.

“You just won’t quit, now will ya?” 

A swipe swerves right into the other’s direction; a katana easily bouncing back from a fan.  _ Of course that wouldn’t work. Try harder. Always try harder. There could be a way to stop this… _

He meets face to face with his own saber.

_ …..Dammit. _

_ Just like old times, ain’t it, Xana? _

Funny. He thought he’d seen the last of that clone. Not even close. Not even frickin’ close.

Yumi blinks upon seeing what form the morpher had chosen. Surely enough, it had to be him. It had to be. The monster already has his speed, why not his form? 

Dawning in a black and golden suit, with grey skin and a Cheshire grin, the shapeshifter holds out twin katanas, ramming them into Ulrich. The samurai ricochets the incoming crystals in front of him, darting to the edge of the Overwing. Yes, he could fall, but it wouldn’t have mattered. He would get caught anyway.

Memories flash right before his very eyes, recalling how he fought a clone of himself before. This would either be a piece of cake or a catwalk of torture. The world of Lyoko can’t promise anything for that matter.

In an orange blur, blades stick together like glue against the Lyoko swordmaster’s sword. His intentions are to attack the thing from pelvis to skull, but who could the say his lovely doppelganger had a trick under its sleeve? After all, it could change into anything.

His sword whips at the hilt of the other ones, nearly knocking them askew… But what did come being knocked over was him.

The sector is nothing but a whiplash of colors into his perspective of vision. Orange, pink, and purple rush into his field of sight. He has to act quick. Zipping from crystal to crystal, he lands on the desert-like ground, forming a dust cloud.

Great, now he has no idea where he’s at.

Grime engulfs around him, trapping him within this murky, murky earth powder. Good thing he isn’t on Earth, or his lungs would be filled with it right now.

_Now… Where did it go?_

His hand stung from reverberation. Man, did he hurt the clone’s sabers hard. 

His optics scrunch in aversion. In anticipation. In trepidation. Seconds pass, and soon it’ll be minutes. He can feel butterflies in his stomach.

_ Where the Hell is it? _

A shriek rings his ears… Along with slicing and blasting. His eyes squint to the sound.

_ Guys…? _

Before he could apprehend it, a pink figure bumps straight into him. Well, at least there’s Aelita.

“....Princess?”

Aelita holds out her palms, crackling with energy. She knew what could happen next. There’s no way out of it. Since the thing has the ability to shift, it’ll do so.

“...Shh!” she warns in phobia.

“Incoming!”

A surge of tiny, small arrows hit against them, only to be restricted by Ulrich’s sword. The brunette grits his teeth.

“Odd, what the hell was that for?”

“It wasn’t me, I swear! It was Mr. Ugly over there… But he does have a good look as me.”

“Now’s not the time to compliment it, now is the time to-”

A crystallized tail plows at them, and if you squint, there could be blue squares coming out of them.

“No!”

A roaring racket comes from a certain vehicle, and in a short span of seconds, and without warning, the Overwing bangs straight into the creature.

The dust storm clears by the princess’s creativity. Consequently, that didn’t stop from what had happened. They lost too many life points. They could die. They could die. Devirtualization may have been nothing in the past, but… But now the possibilities are warming up.

“Are you okay?”

“That hurts like Hell…. And that’s saying something for being here in Lyoko…” the yellow-clad warrior complains, watching as parts of his digital skeleton are shown at his ankles... Spilling out pixels. 

Funny, he thought that wouldn’t happen. If they couldn’t go back to the factory, then disappearing into digital specs would be their death.

“It could give us harm… More than the other monsters,” Aelita mumbles, glaring in concentration. No monster could be able to hurt them like that before… Why now? Oh, right… This isn’t their ordinary monster.

“...I’m…. I’m not sure how many life points we have left… Jeremie?”

“...You have a fair amount left… About thirty life points. However, it matters how much damage the shapeshifter did to you two…”

Jeremie knew he couldn’t say much to begin with. First, his friends are trapped. Then, they’re trapped with this hideous monster. Now, they’re trapped with this hideous monster in a sector and could die if devirtualized. 

….What a pickle they’re in.

His cerulean pupils view the ladder where it leads to the scanners. Materialized… The thing in Lyoko causing so much trouble could easily come out of the scanner… And stir mayhem for the academy…. Especially the students.

Then… The glitching sound fills his headset. He could hear the others’ worried screams as he types on the keyboard. It’s been confirmed that the teen with the sword disappeared.

This can’t be happening. This can’t be happening. There’s no way one of them could have been killed off already. There’s no way.

He tried and tried and tried to prevent it from happening.

He immediately launches a  _ Code: Earth, _ and by that simple action, the action took its course.

The warriors in the virtual world become baffled. The shapeshifter is still there… But someone isn’t. 

“Jeremie…. Wh-where is….”

Yumi. She couldn’t believe it. No. No she couldn’t believe it. After all those many times, she lost  _ him  _ to that. To that thing!

Jeremie grips aggressively on his keyboard. It had to be done. It just had to be done.

“....There was nothing else I could have done…”

“....Jer?”

He blinks. That voice. Then…. If he’s back at the scanner then that means….

He types again. Nope, he still can’t send them back at the scanner room. If he can’t do that, then why does everyone sound so panicked?

“Uhhh…. Einstein, we have a problem….”

Shaky hands watch the screen with unease. His ears vibrate as the clamor of the scanner is heard. Not from one scanner, but two.

He’s just relieved to listen to the samurai’s voice again.

“....What is it, Ulrich? I know you’re back at the scanner room so why do you sound so-”

“I have no time for your bullcrap, Jer!”

He never snapped at him like that.

What could be the issue here?

Wait a minute… There were two scanners that opened. Two. If the other three are still in the Crystal Sector, then that could only mean one thing.

His skin turns ghostly white.

“Be careful!” he shrieks.

“Yeah, thanks for the help!” Mocks the other sarcastically.

The trio stand with their open-ranged weapons, evoked with rage. How  _ dare _ this creature devirtualize their friend like that? At first, they were stuck here because of Xana’s dastardly plans, but now… Now they understand why they’re here.

They prevented devirtualization so that this thing wouldn’t materialize on Earth.

Well, that didn’t turn out so well… Now didn’t it?

“....It’s okay, he’s back at the scanner room…” Jeremie explains to them, anxiously watching them duke out against the creature.

“What’s the bad news?” The catlike comrade questions.

Jeremie swallows a lump in his throat.

“The bad news…. We got another fish to fry….”

Black, clawed hands grasp at the edges of the scanner. Purple ooze drips on the floor… And the brunette holds on a metal bar, sneering at the beast before him.

_The shapeshifter finally succeeded on what it wanted to do._     



	8. Chapter 7: Close Encounter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As any writer would say to a dark genre... This should be fun, but it wouldn't be for the warriors. Stay tuned to find out what happens.

_ My scanner opens with a cloud of steam, evaporating in the air as I lay flat in the tube-like thing. Back hunched and face colliding with the cold metal, I wearily peer as I hear yet another scanner open up. _

_ No…. No, it couldn’t be… Couldn’t it? _

_ Who am I kidding? _

_ Claws crease at the edges… And once I saw that familiar purple ooze that leaves me cringing… My eyes widen at the horrid revelation. _

_ That Code Earth Einstein set up for me… Also brought the scumbag to Earth… _

_ We’re in Hell now. _

* * *

 

“Get out of there,  **NOW!”**

The leader’s voice rings in Ulrich’s head; a voice of precaution. It was only cotton on his ears. Good god. Xana has successfully done what he wanted to do.

To free his own creation and sent it to do an onslaught on the entire campus. Had this been the idea all along? Oh man, how clueless could they get?

Being trapped on Lyoko with a murderous beast is one thing… But it’s a whole different story on Earth.

With Earth, there’s no turning back. You could always get a second chance in the virtual world. You have your own powers and weapons to back yourself up. What good of a use of a weapon when you don’t know how to kill the thing?

On the balls of his feet, he darts away from it as fast as he can. There’s no use in attacking it… Especially if they’re this close.

Clamors of pipes clash to the ground, as he narrowly escapes from its claws. Palm pressing against a button, the factory doors open as he attempts to find his gateway to escape.

If only he knew the factory at the back of his hands.

Sections beyond sections lay out in his vision; obscured by the darkness that stretched miles across it. Rushing down the stairs, he backs away as crimson eyes bulge out to him.

A jerk and a hastily swing.

**BAM!**

Purple gunk splatters the metal bar he possessed with his hands, and a shriek scratches his eardrums. He has to keep it at bay. Don’t let it go towards the school. DON’T let it go towards the school.

If only that was an easy objective.

Tongues lace around said bar, being thrown out of reach for the child to use as a way to attack.

Clenching his teeth in aggravation, he plunges his fists into the creature’s unpleasantly thin body, hearing the cracking of bones that follow.

Yeesh… It’s more realistic than he imagined.

“Can you hear me? Are you okay?”

Another jab into it, feeling the slime tainting his hands.

“Never better Jer….” Venom coating his voice with the pinch of sarcasm. “I’m stuck with one of these in the factory… And let’s say I’m in the middle of either getting eaten or getting away…”

“I’m sure we can think of something…”

A spiked tail whips across the darkness… And he couldn’t tell if he hit his head against a piece of machinery or not. Stars explode in his vision with his head pulsing in pain. No time to be seeing stars. No time for feeling pain.

No time for any of that.

His fists fire out… Eyes shooting daggers at the revolting creature in front of him. It isn’t his best idea to go against this thing… Knowing how the thing devirtualized him back in Lyoko, but this isn’t for his survival. He doesn’t think so.

No. This is for the safety of the innocent. Safety of the people at Kadic. If this thing got loose because of him, then everyone at school would be in the thing’s jaws. 

“Here’s an idea… To keep this thing from getting out of the factory!”

* * *

 

The tornado of crystals never left Yumi… Able to shoot at her command. She isn’t sure how long she’s been here… How long her friends have been here… But they won’t rest until they take the shapeshifter out.

A migraine forms in her head… Leaving her struggling to stay true to her telekinesis. Falling to her knees, she sends the crystals towards the upcoming monster.

**Boom!**

The Japanese warrior flings from the explosion… Her body skidding against the ground and leaving dust specs around her. Huh. It’s a shocker she hasn’t been devirtualized because of that.

Grabbing her fans out and leaping back to her feet, she investigates the crystal wasteland with agitation. She can feel her wrists tremble despite the death glare she gave.

_ Stay calm. This will all be over before you know it. You can do this. We can do this. _

They sure as hell could do this. 

Digital squares float far off from the multicolored implosion from afar… Meaning that it formed into something.

What now?

What could it possibly form into now? It’s a deadly manifestation. A deadly creation. It could do whatever it wants to do. Whatever it plans to do.

And it doesn’t calm her nerves to know the perilous dangers at Earth.

Rosy pink energy soars right at her, disarming her fans. She clutches on her arm, hissing in agony.

She knows what it formed into now.

A twisted grin forms on the shapeshifter’s lips. Oh, this could be fun. This is going to be fun. It could feel it. With its clone on Earth, surely nothing could stop it.

….Right?

“Energy field!”

Aelita stares down at the shapeshifter… Palms out to smolder the thing until it’s nothing more. Her eyes tense at the thing. 

C’mon. C’mon. There must be a way to take it out. So far, they’re out of options. The logo doesn’t work. The main weakspot doesn’t work. Their weapons are proved to be useless.

C’mon. Think of a strategy. A strategy to finish it. Nothing. So far nothing. If only she could find a tower and deactivate it.

If only.

Her thought dissipate as a tail grasps around her waist, sending her into some kind of tunnel.

“Aelita!”

Sliding through it, it reminds her of the Ice Sector and what it has to offer. Isn’t this what the Crystal Sector is? A mashup of all the previous sector with its own sector style? Could be.

Faceplanting on the snow, she pushes herself up to see crystals lining up the icy cavern. Her gut thrashes with pain, as if telling her that being here isn’t such a swell idea.

What could it be now? More shapeshifters?

Water ripples from a small lake; becoming a frenzy. 

Her mind draws a blank. No creature could be able to do that. To be able to move around the Digital Sea like that.

Her friends take steps back from the sea, and she couldn’t help but question why.

“...I know what could travel in the sea like that…” Yumi’s voice darken.

“You don’t mean….?” Odd fears, holding out his arm.

Yumi nods, much to his displeasure.

The three stand in alarm as the creature spits out of the sea, claws gripping on the edge. It’s got them right where it wants them.

Ice shards begin to cannon ball at them, only to be blocked by fans and shields.

“....It adapted the abilities it got from the monster that was in the Ice Sector…”

Aelita has her hair standing on end. Her friends appear the same way. Not only was the creation able to take in other forms and powers, it’s able to…

Adapt to any environment possible.

Then… Her mouth lets out a gasp of surprise. 

Something standing tall from the far off pathways of the cave.

A tower.

* * *

 

A roar bounces off the walls of the factory.

Distant metal bars and machinery scatter across the factory floors… With only the noise of the abandon ambiance keeping the living ones company.

Ulrich hasn’t heard from Jeremie since he warned him about being careful about the monster. Right. He’s still trying to fix things up with the others on Lyoko. The last advice that was given is to stay safe… Stay safe and keep away from the creature. Keep it away from the school.

Slimed fingers run across the bloody claw marks on his arm. Of course. Of course he got hurt. Was there any other way to be reckless and at least try to fight back?

The growling appears closer…. And closer. Dammit, It really can sense him on Earth and Lyoko.

He bit his tongue, no matter if his teeth are cutting through. If he keeps quiet, then maybe he could bash it when it’s unaware.

Maybe.

_Here goes nothing._


	9. Chapter 8: Annihilation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my golly, I can't believe I finally finished the last chapter. I know it probably wouldn't live to everyone's expectations, but hey, what are you gonna do? The epilogue next time is gonna be all that's left of this story.

A tower in a red aura…. A tower. 

After all of this Hell, they finally found it. They can finally end the attack. They can finally escape the sector; however, they shouldn’t get their hopes about it.

They can still got one creature to deal with.

Long-ranged attacks fire at the snarling shapeshifter, watching it writhe and lurch back at them. Crystals from its body start growing… Larger and sharper. Talons from its fingertips lashes out at them like an army of swords. 

Yumi slices her fans at the crystals, simply tearing them apart. Her brows furrow at its figure… As if expecting it to shift once again. The signs of it forming alerts her with agitation. If she was on Earth right now, her blood in her body would have become ice.

_ What is it changing into now? _

Her mouth hangs open. Her feet start backing away from what it turns into.

Everyone became silent… Only Aelita is quivering. Tentacles come spawning out of the shapeshifter… Blue and thin. Its shape resembles something that nearly killed Aelita long ago in Sector 5.

The one thing that the heroes couldn’t defeat….

No matter what they do, they couldn’t….

In a technical noise, the creature’s change is complete.

“The…. Scyphozoa….”

The cnidarian swoops forward at them.

* * *

 

A scream rings across the factory, as a kick slams into the monster. Ooze bubbles out of its mouth and damaged eyes. Claws curl around the foot, flipping the teen over onto the dusty ground.

Ulrich’s surprised the commotion didn’t cause anyone to pop into here. Then again, who knows about the factory besides them anyway?

“....Okay, okay… I know that you can sense me…. Don’t need to rub it in my face…” he sneers at it.

He can see its teeth sharpening…. Tongues slithering against the floor. Well, time to run again.

“Don’t let it get near Aelita!”

Jeremie’s panicked shout didn’t do anything but provides him with adrenaline. Good god, how he wished he had his saber from Lyoko with him right now.

Blood trickles down his arms from the scrapes, but that doesn’t stop him from giving up. Fierceful winds burst through the silent, dead factory and causing more metal to fall. He jerks from side to side, narrowly missing the rain of metallic bars. It’s a surprise that the roof from the building hasn’t collapsed yet.

“Stern!”

His eyes widen at the sound. Ah, so someone did finally arrive here. It couldn’t be his couch and the one girl who’s been swooning over him doesn’t call him by his last name. No. He knows exactly who this is and there’s no telling on what could happen next.

“Dunbar?”

How he found them here seems to be… Oh, who was he kidding? This guy has been around more than he believes.

“What the Hell is going on here?”

“Like I need to tell you!”

_ Great, why did the thing had to camouflage in the darkness? _

From above, the creature hangs from the ceiling like a bat. Its crimson eyes glare back at the teens, which William is already panicking.

“What the Hell is  _ that!?” _

Ulrich almost wants to bash his head, but their lives are at stake now. Getting in a defensive stance, he holds out his goop-covered fists.

“Dunbar, if you want your ass saved I suggest shutting up, alright?”

William blinks.  _ Wait, so he’s going against this himself!? _ Good god, he didn’t think he’d seen something so vicious having a one on one with a small kid he knows in the academy. Well, he can’t just leave him be and possibly being killed by this thing, even if they don’t get along.

“No way…. If it means this thing can kill people, then I’m not going to let it loose.”

The alien figure yelps out an unearthly screech, before lunging its frail body at them.

Ulrich was about to puncture a fist in, but the taller male grabs him and darts away. A puckered, annoyed look paints over his face.

“Dunbar, what are you doing!?”

William nearly drags him as he bats out of Hell. Good thing the factory is one massive maze, so they can easily the monster could easily lose them around.

“Are you out of your mind!? If we’re going to fight this thing, we’re going to need some weapons.”

The brunette’s intentions to slap him at the back of his head grows, but… He’s right. If they’re going to attack it, they need a pretty good enough arsenal to fight back.

They rush through the woodland of trees, having hearts in their guts as they know the beast is going to charge after them.

Its claws swing from branch to branch, targeting them with the mission to dice them.

* * *

 

The horrid jellyfish stands against all impacts of weaponry, aiming its tentacles at the one and only Aelita.

Aelita blasts Energy Fields back and forth, with her attempts to waste it. There isn’t a simple scratch on it. Shudders come from her as she keeps firing at it. 

“Get away from her!”

Yumi holds the ice shards in place by her telekinesis, clattering them right at the Scyphozoa. To say she isn’t distressed either is an understatement. If they make one mistake, the thing could easily take Aelita in its clutches and make her do unspeakable things.

They can’t let her get killed by it again or even worse… Being possessed.

“Laser arrow!”

The arrows clash against the thing like they were bullets that came from a rifle, but they were have done little to no damage. Odd would have done more, but all he has his arrows. Literally there is hardly anything he and Yumi could do.

Tentacles lure Aelita in, and she can feel pins and needles as it begins pulsing pressure into her brain. Even her virtual life form is crying out in agony. Control. Control. Control. It’s going to control her and possess her.

“Oh no you don’t!”

Yumi pierces her fans at the tentacles of the thing, hearing it screech. That reminds her well enough that the Scyphozoa is just the shapeshifter. This wasn’t the real Scyphozoa. If it was, it would have done much worse to the Lyoko girl.

Aelita gracefully falls on her stomach, watching as the thing morphs back into the shapeshifter.

That was close.

She lets her creativity let loose as she sings out, trapping the creature’s feet in ice. Sliding under it, she enters the tower at last.

Feeling more than welcome to finish the job, a bright smile forms on her face.

“Ready, Jeremie?”

Jeremie never felt more than glad to get this over with. Spending a day and a half has exhausted him to no end, along with the pressure crushing his shoulders.

Now they can finally…. Finally end this madness.

“I’m more than ready…”

* * *

 

Trees fall down within the forest, with leaves and bark making a warzone out of the area. Finding the shed, the two boys make use of the tools there.

William holds out a chainsaw while Ulrich grabs out a pitchfork. 

“Okay, so… We might die if we fight… Okay, that’s… Fantastic….” William breathes out anxiously, making an obnoxious blare out of the chainsaw.

“Hey… That’s what happens usually everyday… Except you don’t remember,” Ulrich quips back at him, smirking smugly.

“Huh?”

Crystal spikes are tossed at them, impaling straight into the shed. Glass shatters as some get thrown in the windows. A dust cloud forms the moment the creature arrives in the shed, bringing fear to them.

Aelita ascends to the top of the tower, lighting up the platform below her feet. She takes small steps towards the blue screen, preparing to do the procedure.

“Ready Stern?”

“Been ready, Dunbar.”

The two smirk at each other before sprinting at the creature, weapons in hands. The chainsaw shreds through the tar skin of the creature, as the pitchfork lacerates towards the logo on its forehead and eyes. 

The creature’s tongues wrap around them, holding them as if they were a pair of dolls.

* * *

 

Aelita sends in the code by her handprint, watching as letters pop up on the screen.

**CODE**

**LYOKO**

* * *

 

The shapeshifter from Earth and Lyoko slowly disintegrates into nothingness, never to be seen again. Relief soaks into the warriors, and Jeremie slouches in his seat, letting out a whistle of relief.

William wipes the sweat from his forehead, dropping the slime splattered chainsaw to the ground.

“Got to hand it to you, Stern. You got some guts.”

Ulrich lets go of the pitchfork in hand, folding his arms as he continues to smirk back at him.

“You’re not too shabby either, Dunbar.”

* * *

 

Yumi exhales as she lays her geisha self on the snow of the cave, watching as the tower turns white.

“Well, she did it…. She finally did it…”

“Hey, I did a pretty good job! I call all the shots!” Odd chimes, pointing a feline claw to himself.

Yumi shakes her head, sighing contently.

* * *

 

“Tower deactivated,” Aelita whispers, spotting the blue squares of data flowing to the center of the tower.

A ball of light runs up the tower, eventually covering it.

* * *

 

Jeremie taps a key, letting out a raspy breath as he begins to speak. Finally, the newest sector and monster is gone for good.

“Return to the past, NOW!”

* * *

_ Everything bathes in a white light. _


	10. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy moly, what a finish. Took me a while but I at lastly finish this fic. Funny how it's only a short story and yet it took me a few months to complete it. The wonders of effort, huh? Hope you all enjoy the fic!

The clamor of a reverse function of a tape occurs the moment the white flash blankets over everything in sight. That in turn makes it impossible for Xana to create any sort of devastating attack with the shapeshifter and making Lyoko chaotic with the Crystal Sector.

Each member of the team isn’t sure what to think of the stage of events that happened. From one attack being done, to being stuck in Lyoko, to the Crystal Sector, but one thing that deeply scar in their minds is the shapeshifter.

Those red eyes, the jagged sets of sharp teeth, the pair of slimy tongues, and not to mention its grotesque abilities to transform into anything it desires. The menace may be vanquished, but what it has committed remained fresh in the warriors’ minds.

Yumi could still see flashes of the creature turning into her, planning to kill her and her friends. She still couldn’t forget how close she was with the thing.

_ Bark-like brown eyes surge in fright, with one hand gripping on the handle and another swiping her fan at the logo of the creature… Narrowly cutting the magenta spikes off of the creature’s back and tail. As the other climbs up on her vehicle, it holds her by the wrists… Which are slowly being covered in slime as both of them are being held by the tongues. _

_ Her back crashes into the handle of the Overwing… As it begins to pass right through the other warriors, heading into a straight line to who knows where. An endless journey until she dissipates into pixels. _

She shivers at the memory, yanking the hair tie out of her hair, rubbing her hands against her bare arms. The bright orange sunlight peeks through her bedroom window. She lets out a soft exhale, grabbing out her cell to check the time.

Seven in the morning. Jeremie must have been so anxious about the attack happening again, he decided to jump back to the very morning this whole disaster started. It didn’t boil her blood of course, but… It did surprise her.

A notification beeps quietly on her phone, and with an arched brow, she reads the text.

Yumi} Can you come meet me at the forest? We need to talk.

Important, with a hint of urgency. Without thinking twice, she drapes her clothes on and rushes out the door.

* * *

 

_ Claws clash against his katana, enough to knock the air out of him, but he nails his feet to the ground, spotting the sparks that flew out of the blades. The snarling creature locks its sight on him, having intentions of what to do. _

_ Its spiked tail encircles around his waist before flinging him across the forest. Aelita’s cry of his name echoes off in his ears, for it is barely audible thanks to being thrown from such velocity. In a zip, the brute catches over to him with its tentacles sprawling out of its spine. _

_ He has to do something. At this rate he could be devirtualized… Or suffer a fate worse than that. That thing has speed… Speed that is his gateway to taking down monsters. _

Ulrich hisses in regret and the bubbling rise of fear. God it makes him sick to his stomach. He clasps his hand together, feeling his frigid skin. Funny, his blood ran cold. He rests against a tree, folding his arms as he peers around for Yumi. 

She’ll be here any minute now. Good. Good. That’s all he needed. His nails dig into the bark of the tree as memories begin to sink in.

_ She can’t be gone already. She can’t be. _

_ She can’t be. _

_ A memory flashes right before his very eyes. Being pushed out of the way… Snow roaring at its fury… And Yumi laid there… Slowly being crushed by a tree. Stay awake. He needed her to stay awake, but she was slowly dying. _

_ I need you… He remembered saying to her, choking back tears. _

_ He can’t let it happen again. _

_ He can’t lose her again. _

_ Bouncing off from his vehicle and letting Aelita take it over, he aims straight towards the Overwing and the mess of digital particles. _

“Ulrich… Is everything okay?”

The voice of the Japanese female snaps him out of his flashback; however, she isn’t the only one who arrived here. They all did. They all are worried about each other and about what happened.

“Yeah…. Yeah…. Everything’s fine.”

_ Liar. _ Yumi clenches her fists slightly, with them nearly fidgeting. Well, if he isn’t going to get these things off of his chest, she might as well do it with a crowbar.

“I know it’s not… Trust me…” Her eyes lock onto his, a contact of sharing their own collection of fears and insecurities. “...None of us are fine after what just happened.”

She places a hand on his shoulder, tightening her grip.

“You could have died…”

Yumi felt as if her fans devirtualized her avatar. 

“What?”

“You could have died!” Ulrich’s voice crack at the last word.

Yumi has her arms shaking, getting straight in his face. She tries her best to prevent any sign of tears to even form in her eyes.

“You could have died!” she barks back, her hands flailing out to emphasize her words. “You got devirtualized by the shapeshifter!”

“You could have too, Yumi…” Ulrich’s one soften. He eyes melt into hers. Damn, why must they have a tiny argument at this time? Thankfully, it’s just about the same thing that deeply shook them. “...I thought… When I saw those pixels… They were you.”

Yumi’s mouth make a thin line, breathing through her nose. She understood every word he said. Truth to be told, they both could have lost each other at this point, whether it determined the future of their relationship or not.

“I… I know…” Her hands become sweaty due to how much she tightens them into fists. “Ulrich… Just… Trust me. It’s okay to tell each other how we’re all feeling… Believe me, when you got devirtualized, I wanted to kill the monster until it was nothing more! None of us are going to be okay after this… But we can make through this as a team like we’ve always been…”

“...She’s right…” Jeremie’s tone waters over a small pause. He adjusts his collar on his sweater, trying to avoid the little spots of sweat forming on there. “We all could have lost each other… Come to think of it, I spent hours on end to try to get you back. There wasn’t much I could do being stuck on a computer screen with just my fingertips doing all the work.”

_ Jeremie slumps in his chair, sighing in relief and thankful that his comrades are still alive. He isn’t sure how long they could last but he has to formulate a way to get them out of Lyoko… To find a weakness for this creature. _

_ His fingers tap on the keyboard, keeping a check of their life points. His eyes widen, but grow back to their original size. He figured they lost some points but not much. It’s a surprise considering how the first two of the batch got brutally beaten by the monster. _

_ “At least they’re all okay…” he mutters under his breath. _

_ Staying up for an entire night… Stressed to the bone… He’ll try his best to get them out of there. _

He still couldn’t forget the sinking feeling in his gut that make his stomach churn. The thought of Aelita dying… He can’t bare himself to even imagine that.

The others nod in agreement to his statement. It’s true. He did all the best he could for the sake of their lives, but… He’s more than glad that they’re safe and sound… That Aelita is safe and sound.

“You know… Even though we got almost killed by big, dark, and nasty… You gotta admit it was cool to explore the new sector!” Odd exclaims, trying to lighten up the atmosphere.

Yes, the event was horrifying, deadly even, but it did have its collection of sweet moments.

_ Across the forest and throughout the badlands of crystals, the four decide to try to lay low from the shapeshifter, but how in this sector could they find somewhere safe from that horrendous thing? They have no clue on what else could it do. If it can change its appearance, then it’s going to prove that it’s going to take more than a logo on its forehead to disintegrate it into nothingness. _

_ A horde of feet traipse around the walkway of clusters of crystals that scatter all among the ground. The artificial sun in the sky blares a harsh, blinding illumination that causes said crystals to shine and dazzle. Good thing this wasn’t an actual place on Earth, because in this portion of the sector, it’s like a scorching desert. _

“I guess you’re right… Even if was the sector we had to destroy,” Aelita responds, offering a small smile.

Her feelings are complex to that precisely. The crystals and environment in the sector was extraordinary, but all of that was wasted by Xana’s plan. In fact, this whole attack was just the AI’s game. 

He wanted to break them down, shatter their hope, and eventually murder them… And despite it all, he almost succeeded if it wasn’t for their quick thinking. 

_ A hand covers her mouth, a whine easily escaping from it. Her body quakes as images of the creature flash before her very eyes. The sharp claws. The two slimy tongues. The breathtaking speed it possesses. Her breaths come out rigid, rapid, as tears start to spill from her eyes. _

_ "...Aelita?” The raven-haired female begins to speak, a look of extreme concern paints over the makeup of her face. “...Are you okay?” _

_ Aelita couldn’t speak. Her eyes are the size of bowling balls and her pupils shrink to dots. Her breathing comes in a flurry, startling the others with panic. Never had they seen her in such a state. _

_ "Aelita!" _

_Her vision blurs, almost to watercolor as the trio circles around her. Two hands grasp her shoulders and one hand rubs circles on her back. She could have sworn she could have heard Jeremie screaming for her name too. Her eyes flutter, with a sniffle coming from her nostrils. The voices she heard sound distorted, as if being plunged underwater._

She stares at the others with her watering eyes, and she clenches them shut, allowing her tears to fall. Already her comrades embrace her, to try to comfort her and assure her.

“Everything’s going to be okay, Aelita…”

She glance hopelessly at the sky, seeing the clouds pass across the blue sky. She begins to take in the words, starting to believe their assurance. Yeah. They got through this. They can surely get through anything at this point.

_“Yeah… We’ll be just fine…”_


End file.
